


Tunnels

by TheWalrusAndTheCarpenter



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Cannibalistic Thoughts, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 15:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4792847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWalrusAndTheCarpenter/pseuds/TheWalrusAndTheCarpenter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’d been here before, he was almost certain of it. But the dank walls of the mines all looked the same at this point and had done for the past few… days?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tunnels

He’d been here before, he was almost certain of it. But the dank walls of the mines all looked the same at this point and had done for the past few… days? Josh couldn’t tell exactly how long he had been down there; his concept of time was terrible without being able see the sun. He could have been down here for hours or days or even a month.

After the incident with creature - oh God, _Hannah_ \- he had been dragged off to some far off corner of the tunnels. Someway into it he must have hit his head on a rock and passed out because he didn’t remember much else.

There was a giant empty space in his memory, the next thing he remembered was that he was in a room filled with bones and rotting viscera. The strong metallic scent of blood stung at the back of his nose and throat, it had taken all of his will to not double over and throw up the contents of his stomach. He may have been able to stuff a fake body with pig organs, but the scent of it all still made him feel queasy.

The creatu- Hannah wasn’t there when he awoke and he wasn’t willing to sit around until she did eventually turn up. He wasn’t sure what she was now he she definitely wasn’t his little sister anymore. Using the slimy wall behind him to pull himself up, he had headed off down the winding tunnels.

Josh turned a corner again, tripping frequently due to his fleeting energy. He hadn’t eaten anything since he left the lodge and that was quite some time ago. The longer he spent down here, the more his hunger grew. His stomach ached and growled every time he walked passed one of the many bodies in the mines, he was hungry yes, but he couldn’t resort to cannibalism. Yet.

Deep down, he had hoped that his friends would have come searching for him; Chris at least should have come looking. But he couldn’t stop thinking that they all hated him. Of course they hated him, for all of the shit he put them all through. Mike wouldn’t have bothered searching, not after what happened with Jess. Even if Josh couldn’t remember doing anything to hurt Jess, it didn’t mean that he didn’t do something. Maybe he did. Maybe that’s why Mike didn’t help when Hannah grabbed him. A low morbid laugh bubbled in his throat as he tried to make out shapes on the dark, Josh didn’t blame Mike for hating him, he hates himself too.

A scratching noise from the end of the tunnel caused Josh to freeze. His heartbeat pounded in his chest as he tried to pinpoint the location of the noise but his head swam from exhaustion.

_It’s not real._

He chanted in his head as he screwed his eyes tight.

_It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real._

The sounds of heavy raspy breathing began to inch closer and louder. Josh had delusions like this sometimes, his mind creating the sorts of creatures they used in horror movies. But due to the recent events, he couldn’t tell what were hallucinations and what was real anymore.

His own breath caught in his throat as he made out a tall, spindly creature crawling across the tunnel in front of him. Even if he wanted to move, he couldn’t. Paralysed with fear, he could only watch.

It stalked around, long digits clawing at the mine floor; its jaw opened and closed repeatedly showing sharp, jagged teeth. With each opening of its mouth, the scent of decay wafted over to Josh. Finding nothing of interest, the creature moved on down into the tunnels, back the way that Josh had just come.

After Josh was sure that the creature, hallucination, whatever it was, was gone he continued on his way. His feet ached and his legs wobbled, threatening to give out under him with each step. The costume he was wearing for his “psycho” act began to feel like a tonne of bricks on him, it’s was clad with blood, sweat, and God knows what else.

He stumbled into an open cavern, he tried to calm himself and not get his hopes up. Just because the tunnels were opening up, didn’t mean that he was close to freedom.

The faint dripping of water and the odd scuffling of a rat made the place feel eerier than if it was silent. After getting accustomed to darkness and silence, hearing noises sent Josh’s senses into overdrive and he began to panic.

He walked deeper into the cavern, at one point he tripped over his boots and ended up face first in the dirt. His hands stung from catching them on the stones on the ground. By the time he was back on his feet, he felt blood drip down his left palm leaving an uncomfortable and wet trail on his skin.

He was certain that this was going to lead out of here. The originally narrow tunnels were slowly getting wider as he progressed and they appeared to be heading upwards, so he must have been getting closer to the surface.

Squinting in the dark, he tried to see whether there were any exits leading on from the open cavern. There were bones and scattered remains covering the floor, there was even an old oil lamp which had long since been abandoned. As he looked around he began to think that there wasn’t anything connecting to the cavern, and that he was going to have to go back the way he came and find another tunnel to head down.

But hidden in the shadows, was the start of a mine cart rail. As Josh went over to it, to inspect it further, he assumed he must have missed it the first time around because most of the tunnel was blocked by a large boulder. If there was a rail that meant that it was probably going to lead to the surface.

The gap between the boulder and the tunnel wall was small, but Josh was certain that if he tried he could get through it. He slowly edged one foot through the gap, his back pressed completely against the wall. His stomach and chest scrapped against the rough surface of the boulder. For a moment the buckle of his dungarees caught on the rock before snapping off. Once fully through the gap, Josh held onto the broken strap of his dungarees to stop them falling down.

The musty air was getting cleaner and fresher. He could almost hear the birds of the forest that he once used to curse at having to wake up to, now the thought of them gave him hope of escape. As the rail got steeper, Josh stumbled more but each time he managed to gather just enough strength to get up and carry on.

A cool breeze caused the hair on the back of Josh’s neck to stick up on end. Turning a corner, he was sure that he was going to be faced with the sight of trees and sky, but instead he was faced with the dull grey of rock.

The exit to the tunnel was completely blocked off by a cave in. Through the small gaps between the rocks, Josh could see the forest in all its winter glory. His heart lurched in his chest, he was so close.

Taking a deep breath, he leant against the rocks and attempted to push them away. At first, they gave a bit of give but that only seemed to make them even more stuck. He took a few steps back and then ran forward and pushed again, but there wasn’t any movement. Even if Josh had more energy and strength, he still wouldn’t have been able to make the rocks budge.

His arms flopped to his sides and he slowly moved towards the floor.

_This is what I deserve_. He thought. _This is…_

Josh pulled his knees up to his chest, he wasn’t getting out of the mines and he knew it. He was either going to waste away from lack of food, collapse from lack of sleep, or get eaten by whatever that creature was that was stalking around.

All of this was his fault, if he hadn’t have tried to pull that prank on his friends, then none of this would have happened. His friends all suffered because of a stupid prank, and it was all his fault. Just like it was his fault that Beth died and Hannah turned into… _that_. If he hadn’t decided to get completely wasted with Chris then maybe he could have saved them.

But what did it matter now.

His stomach rumbled again. The hunger was gnawing away at him; he was dizzy with the desire to eat. He’d eat anything right now. Maybe if he ate something he’d have enough energy to find a way out and make amends with everyone, make it up to them all.

The rotting flesh of the body he had passed earlier was growing more and more appetising.

A little bit wouldn’t hurt would it?

**Author's Note:**

> My first Until Dawn thing, I hope it's not too bad ahh. Josh is my favourite character and I just want him to be safe but I couldn't help but write something horrible and torture him more.
> 
> Unbeta'd so please tell me if there are any mistakes.


End file.
